As I mentioned in my last post, we went to Tahoe this past weekend to celebrate the end of my singlehood. I had a great time. On Friday, we drove up and started the weekend off with one of my favorites- Popeye's fried chicken in Vacaville. We didn't arrive until 1AM and then got lost thanks to Yahoo Maps. When we finally found the house, we couldn't find the key that was supposed to be under the mat. To our surprise, there were people already inside the house. How mortified we were when we were told that there were different unit numbers- we just assumed that the address we were looking for was the only one. He was in A and we were in C. After profusely apologizing, we arrived at a quaint cabin in South Lake Tahoe at around 2AM.
We slept in on Saturday because we ended up talking until 3:30AM. We had brunch at the Beacon overlooking Emerald Bay. For the afternoon festivities, we went golfing. This was my first outing and most likely will be my last. I had fun, but golfing is not my cup of tea and I think that I'll stick to the miniature golfing since Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods will definitely not be threatened by my skills. It was a 9 hole par 3 course. (Not even sure if I said that right, but you get the drift- less than 18 holes.) Here are some of the quotables: Matilde: We're going golfing this afternoon.
Michelle: You mean
like miniature golfing?
Matilde: No, I mean, golfing.
Michelle: Don't
you have to do that early in the morning? Do we at least get different colored
balls?
Matilde: Do you guys need a putter?
Michelle: I have a club
that says P.
Corinne: Aren't they all putters?
Man: Do you mind if
we start ahead of you?
Michelle: Not at all. Please do.
Man: We're
pretty decent golfers, so we should be able to stay ahead of you. (Man walks
away.)
Nikki: Then what are you doing playing at a municipal course?
Matilde: So what's the final score? (after 7 holes-Matilde, Michelle,
and Jinn vs. Nikki, Show, and Corinne)
Nikki: Oh! We got 28! Wow!
Show: Um, we only have 6 scores written. I think we're missing one...
The laughs alone were worth it. Later that evening, we went to the casinos. I'm going to leave it at that. What happens in Tahoe, stays in Tahoe. :) More conversations until the wee hours of the morning. That's basically all I wanted- a weekend sleepover with my girls for some eating, reminiscing, and lots of laughing.
So I went wedding dress shopping again last night. No, nothing happened to my dress, but I am a bridesmaid in Michelle and Mike's wedding and so I went with Michelle. It seems like I just went to find my own dress. A lot less stressful for me now. It also reminded how quickly this all goes. We have less than 2 months before the wedding. I think that there are some brides who are pretty stressed at this point, but I'm really enjoying it now. I feel like I am at a stage where if everything else doesn't happen, it's not a big deal. I think that once we got those invitations out it was like a big milestone. It seems to make it more real. We actually have people coming for this! So far, we have 32 people who have RSVP'd. Thanks guys!So Michelle and I went to a San Francisco wedding dress design boutique called Amy Kuschel. I kind of wish that I had gone there when I was shopping because it was such a great experience. But all of these dresses are custom made and would have been way out of my budget and I just would have been tempted to spend too much. Besides, I still feel lucky to have my dress and I don't know that I would have chosen any of those dresses. It was just cool because we got to meet Amy herself as she was helping Michelle. I told her about my dress experience and she agreed that sometimes you just have to jump on an opportunity. I was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't pushy or pretentious. The studio was in Union Square with lots of light and wood floors. Compared to any of the bridal shops I went to, this was by far the most pleasant and most attentive. I would highly recommend it to any future brides. It's also where Wendy got her dress.Good news! You remember how I asked you all to take my surveys? Well, I won! I won an Ipod nano from work because I was one of 3 people that had the most completes. Thanks to everyone who took my survey and a special thanks to Santiney who took my survey 30 times during a conference call. I haven't received it yet, but I'll let you know when I do.On the wedding front, we have started the schedule for the reception, drafted the programs, sent out an evite for the rehearsal dinner, and bought supplies to start the Thank You cards. Yes, I'll be trying my hand at using embossing powder and stamps. You would think that after all those invitations that I wouldn't want to do any more crafting with paper, but I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. I'll be using the same color cards and envelopes to match. Who knows- I may start and go- "what was I thinking" and just go out and buy those pre-made Thank You cards that most sane people would use. I don't feel that I'm the most creative person, so when I can experiment and try something new like this, I like to try. I still need to alter my reception dress and thanks to Kian's suggestion, I think I have a seamstress. Still on the To-Do list: transportation, lists (flowers, music, tea ceremony participants, photo must haves), hair and make-up trials, wedding jewelry, and chair covers. This weekend is my shower/bachelorette in Tahoe. I'm looking forward to some relaxation and to spending quality time with my girls- Show, Jinn, Matilde, Nikki, and Corinne.
So we were in Chicago this past weekend for Vicki and Will's wedding. We had a great time, but we wish that there was more time. My girl Vicki looked totally gorgeous in her dress. The whole thing seemed to fly by. Her bridesmaids dresses look a lot like mine but a little lighter and different material. Edwin was able to fly from LA JIT so that even with a delayed flight that landed at 2:30, we were able to make it on time for the 4PM wedding.
I also got to spend some time with the family too since we stayed at my parents and the niece and nephew were in tow. It was great to hang out with Hannah. She even volunteered to come with me to pick up Edwin without her parents. We spent most of the drive singing Old MacDonald and Wheels on the Bus. Those kids just LOVE to sing these songs over and over again. I have a fun picture of her in my sunglasses.
Timothy is SO big now. He's so cute. He's at that age where I can give him as many kisses as I want and he loves it. He never cries and is just content to observe. Loves it when his big sis tackles him on the floor. He just laughs and laughs. He rarely cries and even when he does, it is not that ear-piercing baby cry.So we got back this morning and it was definitely painful to wake up at 3:50AM CST for our 6:30AM flight from Chicago. Though I was able to sleep almost the entire way, it was not the most comfortable ride on my tush.
Dave and Ashley were the first to RSVP. Thanks guys! I'm going to give props to Ashley since she is most likely the one that did it. Make sure that you go up to them to congratulate them for being the first. Dave will be the one carrying the green parasol. JK! At Kian and Wendy's wedding, we were in a very sunny spot and they had parasols for us. Dave was one of the guys who was comfortable enough with his manhood to carry one.Coming to Seattle has given me a lot more time to do wedding stuff. Yesterday, I went to Michaels, Joanne Fabrics, Ross, and Paper Source. I'm thinking about placecards and Thank You cards. Then today, I worked on the registry. There's a Crate and Barrel and Macy's in Bellevue. I could get used to this suburbia. At Macy's, they had the softest towels that I have ever felt. So nice. They were from Calvin Klein. I have never purchased any Calvin Klein products before, but I do like the quality. I liked the purplish color (of course) and the blue towels. I think that I want our bathroom scheme to change slightly. It's always been fish/ocean. I'm going to go for more of a beachy summer house feel. We'll see if Edwin agrees.I also spent more than I ever have on make-up today. Beauty is expensive. I purchased a foundation that was recommended by the make-up person on Saturday. She also recommended a pore minimizer at Sephora. The name cracks me up "Picture Porefect." Part of me is skeptical that this stuff is going to do anything, but I guess that I should try since you only have one wedding day. This is how you go over your wedding budget. Items that you don't anticipate buying like make-up. I guess that if I wore make-up this would not be an additional expense. I think that I may have found a new lipstick too. I'm pretty excited about that because I have been looking for a new lipstick for years now. I am a very loyal lipstick buyer. The sad thing is that they keep discontinuing my colors.
After countless hours of cutting, scoring, gluing, printing, and stuffing, we have sent out our invitations! There are still a couple of exceptions for people missing addresses and printing mishaps, but our guests should be receiving their invitations within the next few days. Thanks to my girls Matilde, Show, Michelle, Corinne, and Nikki who attended my 4 invitation-making parties. Edwin also stepped up and did quite a lot of stuffing, gluing, and printing. He and Sujay can now discuss the war stories of wax seals, embossing, stuffing, and the differences between ecru and Stardream Quartz.
If you can't wait for snail mail, you can actually begin to RSVP online now at the wedding website using the link to the right. Don't forget the password is "sanfrancisco." All you have to do is select "RSVP Here" and then put in the first and last name of the person on the front of the envelope. If you're married, we most likely used the husband's name as the key. We're trying to do all the RSVPs online since we have been known to forget to RSVP (we actually thought we had already sent it in!) and we have heard of others losing the RSVP or worse yet- the post office never delivered the invite/reply card. I'll let you guys know later if we recommend this method or if we end up with a mess!Happy birthday to Edwin's mom today. Edwin and Jeannette are going to be with her tomorrow in LA, so I'm sure they will have fun celebrating.Mishap of the week- I rode my bike to work on Monday and I was rushing home to get to the dry cleaners and return something I had bought. The stores closed at 7PM and I got home at 6:30PM. Good news, right? Well, it would have been except that I left my wallet, cell phone, and keys at work. Edwin was not home and I had to wait outside my garage door for over an hour until he got home. The good news was that I had my computer and was close enough to get internet access from our wireless network. Airport update- so I am in Seattle today until Friday. I showed up to the airport at 7:45AM for a 9AM flight. It took slightly longer, but the lines were not as bad as I anticipated. I did have to check my bag but I was able to carry on my computer. You are also allowed lipstick and deodorant as carry-ons. (I heard that you couldn't.) Toothpaste is not allowed and neither are drinks allowed on the plane. (even the drinks you buy in the airport) The funny thing was that I was on such autopilot that I walked all the way to the car rental kiosk when I realized that I forgot to pick up my bag at baggage claim. (I normally just walk off the plane and go my merry way.)
We went to Kian and Wendy's wedding on Saturday. It was very lovely in a country garden in Sonoma. We had a great time. The paella was awesome and the crab cakes are always welcome! Had a great time dancing the night away.Wilson also came to SF for a visit this weekend. We went out to dinner at Zuppa's on Friday, then for some dessert at Osha's, and hung out at Matrix. Haven't gone out like that in a while. Today, we went to Stern Grove again. They had the SF ballet and the SF symphony orchestra playing. It was very relaxing, but also very annoying because they had these potted plants which obstructed our view. There were a lot of complaints from the audience and they moved one pot during intermission. I wonder who had the bright idea to put the plants on the stage. Then we went to play some pool at Sweeties. Had some Mexican and Taqueria San Jose and then some dessert at Naia.
Well, thanks to everyone who took my survey. Unfortunately someone at work put their survey on My Space and got 3000 completes. I created another survey and put it on craigslist, but I only got about 60 completes from that. Special kudos to Santiney for taking the surveys multiple times during her conference calls.
Tonight, we went wedding dress shopping with Michelle. It seems like a long time ago since I went shopping for my dress. However, it did make me want to get my dress back. Not that I could put in on myself. I have to give her a lot of credit, she's moving very quickly on her wedding plans for January.
This week, we have been trying to finish the invitations. Only 40 invitations left. We have printed the return addresses, but we still need to print some more, stuff, and stamp. We might be able to mail as early as next week! We also got a permit for the picnic on Saturday, October 21st in Golden Gate park in Lindley Meadow. Hopefully, people will stop by so that we can spend more time with them. We want people to feel free to bring any guests and stop by casually. We'll have a BBQ so that if people didn't overeat at the reception, they are sure to overeat here! This weekend, we are going Kian and Wendy's wedding in Napa. It should be beautiful. I am also planning on having my makeup trial and hair trial on Saturday. Why waste good hair and makeup? :) At least this way, I have a use for it! I have the make-up appointment, but I have not had time to make the hair appointment. I hope that I can find someone tomorrow who will take me on Saturday. Tomorrow night, we are having dinner with our friend Wilson who is visiting from HK. Haven't seen him in almost a year. Next week is going to be really busy. I have to go to Seattle on Wednesday and Thursday and then Chicago on Friday for Vicki's wedding. 2 weekends in a row with weddings. Chicago is going to be pretty busy because I don't arrive until Friday after midnight. Laura, Alex, Hannah, and Timothy will also be there, so at least I'll get to see them again. I haven't seen Timothy since he was born in February. He looks so different now. And there's all these people to see and essentially one day to cram it all in and it just happens to be Laura's birthday. Well, it should be fun no matter what we do.
So they're having a contest at work. The person that has the most survey completes wins an Ipod Nano. Please complete my 3 question survey about wedding favors. I need to have at least 125 completes to win and need responses by August 11. You can even take it multiple times if you want! Thanks!
http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225K8ZRUX2HSee survey resultsFeel free to forward this link to your friends! I won't know who completes and who doesn't.
Sorry for the radio silence, folks! It's been a pretty busy week. Hm... let's recap the camping in Tahoe. We went to Emerald Bay with Tom and Debbie. It was a really nice weekend to go. The weather was absolutely perfect, we got to eat a lot of smores, and saw lots of stars. On Saturday, we went on a hike that was very nice. I think that I need to get some hiking boots. (Not that I do a lot of hiking...) But I really don't like using my cross trainers to go. I like them clean. I know- they are for working out. That tells you how often they get used... Anyway, they got very dusty and dirty.The campsite was very nice with showers and bathrooms. I thought that was pretty luxurious for camping. I was pretty annoyed though when I had to wait 20 minutes for the bathrooms because someone was drying their hair with a hairdryer in the bathroom. (hello- we're camping!) However, that was not the worst offense. The worst offense I heard was that these teenagers were using flat irons. ??? Does that sound absurd to anyone else? I am not really complaining- it's just more amusing than anything else. Otherwise, we had a great time. Last week, we spent a LOT of time working on the invitations. I've been having invitation making parties with some of the ladies and made a discovery this week. The optimal number of people working on invitations is 3. We had 5 people and someone was always waiting for someone else to finish something. Michelle and Corinne had to leave early, so Nikki, Edwin, and I worked for a few hours and were able to crank out at least 50 complete invites! I'm just happy to see some finished product. We still have to address them and put stamps on them, but they are ready to go! Edwin and I spent most of the week trying to prepare for this invitation making party by creating and printing out the inserts and invites. I was up to until 2 or 3AM all week. Not fun. But I'm just happy that part is over. I expect that we'll start sending out invites in the next 2 weeks. At least, that's my goal.This weekend was also my birthday. 31- according to nikki, that means that I am officially a thirty-something. I thought that that I got that classification when I turned 30 last year. Remember that TV show in the 80s called thirtysomething? You know, the one with Michael and Hope? I always thought that they were so old. It doesn't really feel so old anymore... According to Steve, this is the second anniversary of my 29th birthday. It's funny, I think that I felt older last year than I do now. So I guess that old adage may be true, you are only as old as you feel. To celebrate, Edwin took me to a French restaurant called Clementine. The service was very good and my favorite was the duck. I had the scallops with lobster risotto which was also good, but the scallops were a little chewy and I couldn't taste any lobster in the risotto. They also gave us little meringue cookies which were very tasty. Edwin liked the dessert which was like french toast on crack with hazelnut ice cream. Way too sweet for me, but for a sweet tooth like Edwin, he loved it. I would definitely go back. We also went to karaoke last night. As usual, a lot of fun.I also got my reception dress on Saturday. In Cantonese, it's called a cheung sam and in Mandarin I believe it's qi pao. I've tried on a lot of these dresses and I found this dress about a month ago with Matilde, but went back and got it because I felt like I had done enough research to decide. It's going to need some alterations. Most of these dresses are now made in Vietnam and it seems that they have some pretty different body proportions over there. The smaller one I tried on fit me perfectly in the hips, but the bust was way too tight. So I ended up having to get a bigger size so I am totally swimming in the bodice, but at least the bust fits. I'm told that it's better to get a size too big and take it in than trying to let things out. So, I have to have it taken in. Anyone know a good seamstress in the Bay Area? Shoot- it's 2AM again. Gotta get to bed. Good night!
